It wouldn’t need to be big … they might go and get you a coffee, bring you a cup cake, tell you a joke, give you a sincere compliment … there are many ways that someone could bring a smile to your face.

Well what if YOU were that someone bringing a smile to other people?

“It costs nothing to be nice.”

What if those kind actions were contagious?

I think that we could create a “NICE Movement” … maybe a National Day of Nice Actions?

“A few nice words can help a person a lot more than you think.”

There is an awful lot of hate and negative BS in the world … let’s try to make life just a little NICER. Be consciously NICE to strangers, co-workers, family and friends … and see how that works!

A “Happy List” is just a list of things that make you happy, cause you to smile or for which you are thankful.

10 thoughts on what to have on the list …

If you were born in a first world country with access to all of the amenities of a modern civilization, then really think about how many things you take for granted, for which you should be TRULY thankful!

Do you have friends, family and/or nice acquaintances?

Do you have good health.

Do you have a good education?

Do you have a job?

I LOVE riding my motorbike … what do you love?

I get a kick out of sunsets, nice scenery, nature etc.

I love to read a good book or watch a good movie.

I have access to technology and all that the internet has to offer.

I live in a free society.

“Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be.”William Adams

There are SO many things to put on that list and each of the above items could create 10 others. Let your imagination run free.

3 Reasons to create your “Happy List”

Just creating it will lift your spirits.

Revisiting it when you need a boost will lift your soul when you most need it.

Reading it, and adding to it, on a regular basis will make you a more positive person.

“If you start to think the problem is ‘out there,’ stop yourself. That thought is the problem.” Stephen Covey

It is an easy way to have a positive impact on your own life … just do it!

On a grand scale we take our situation for granted with our “first world” problems.

We live in an instant-everything kind of world. Instant information, music, sports, food, entertainment, friends … you name it, you can get access to it instantaneously.

Yet more than half the world’s population, more than 3 billion people, live on less than $2.50 a day.

2. Even living in the “first world” environment, there are “haves” and “have nots”.

We take our situation for granted working in modern companies. We work in jobs that provide us with an ever growing list of benefits … guaranteed income levels, flexible working conditions, additional health benefits, extra time off, social events, special recognition of work achievements and on and on.

At the same time many, many people work multiple jobs to make ends meet, earn minimum wage or live hand to mouth. Homelessness and poverty are abundant even in our rich society.

3. At a personal level we take the people in our lives for granted.

It is often the people closest to us that we take for granted. Our immediate family, for whom we would “walk on hot rocks”, yet we also mistreat them for trivial arguments. We often forget to tell people how we feel about them, generating regret when the relationship sours or worse, they are no longer here!

4. Also at a personal level we take our health for granted.

We don’t get regular check ups, we don’t work out enough, we eat poorly, and adopt poor lifestyle habits. At some point it all catches up and again we are left with regrets.

DON”T take your life for granted, appreciate what you have!

Be PROACTIVE in driving your life to be a life with few regrets.

LIVE life, enjoy life and be kind to others.

“No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.” Marc and Angel

Our world today moves at an incredible pace … and it is all too easy to be swept along in our own importance.

We run from task to task, from appointment to appointment and forget to appreciate the people around us.

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill

It doesn’t take much, and if you look for the good you will find it.

Here are some recent examples of awesome people that I have seen. Any of these could be your colleague or your next door neighbor … or you!

This Saturday ten (10) awesome people will participate in a white collar boxing event called the Fight to End Cancer. People who have never boxed before, who endured months of grueling training and will box in front of 500 people. Totally awesome! (PS that is them in the picture above!)

The young lady who bought a meal for a homeless person.

The business lady who was rushing to an appointment but took time to help an elderly man across a busy street.

The many polite people who take time to hold a door open for those coming behind them.

The people serving in cafes and restaurants who have a big, infectious smile!

The receptionists who actually make you feel welcome when you walk into the dentist, an office, the bank etc.

The person in the elevator with a smile and a cheery word first thing in the morning.

If we take a few minutes we can see them every day, ordinary people who make us smile or feel good.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal.” Albert Pike

If everyone could do some small (or big) thing every day to make people smile then we could make this world just a little better than the “awesome” that it already is!

Society talks about success all the time … and for many people that might be the old “American Dream”. Having a good job, a nice house, 2.5 kids and decent health, with perhaps the family dog and a white picket fence … or the 21st century equivalent.

I think it is also fair to say that success is a somewhat foggy concept for many people, who live their lives day to day hoping that “things will work out”.

The reality is that we are all different, and success might look different to each of us, so it is important to understand what that looks like.

“Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.” Tony Hsieh

I also think that many people accept other’s ideas about what success should be. Their parents, their peers and others around them influence what success should look like.

“If you are willing to do more than you are paid to do, eventually you will be paid to do more than you do.” Anonymous

Here are my thoughts on success …

As I already mentioned, success is personal and should be specific to the individual.

Success embraces all areas of your life, so it is possible to achieve success in one part of your life at the expense of another, and if you are OK with that, then that is your call.

If you don’t have some kind of goals then it is difficult to know if you have achieved success.

If it is important to you that others recognize your success, then you need that success to be in line with their vision of success. The opposite applies too, if you do’t care what others think then your success goals are somewhat simplified.

No level of success comes without effort.

I try to achieve goals (success) in my professional life, with my health, with my relationships and in non-work activities. If I am “successful” in my career aspirations but it costs me my health then I don’t value that “success” very highly.

If I am healthy, have strong relationships, achieve my personal goals AND have career success then THAT is how I would define success.

To achieve MY type of success I need to know what “healthy” looks like; what relationships are important to me and what a strong relationship looks like; what those personal goals are, and what “career success” looks like.

It is possible to be very successful in the eyes of others … but not feel that way. And vice versa!

Very often your views on success move, as you achieve more. That is a good thing!

“Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them.” Vaibhav Shah

What do you think? Are you successful? Are you heading in the right direction? Do you make a difference?________________________________________________________________Kevin Dee is founder of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)Find Canada’s top jobs, updated in real-time! Visit Eagle’s Job Centre!Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service? ________________________________________________________________

On November 11, 1918 hostilities ceased, marking the end of “the Great War” … World War I. November 11th was chosen as the day we should all remember those who served, so that our way of life could be maintained.

Today we remember not only those men and women who lost their lives or were injured in two world wars, in Canada Remembrance Day remembers “the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace”.

The day has a special significance for anyone who have served in the forces. I spent seven years in the Royal Navy, but never had to experience the terror of war. However, most people who have spent some time in the military will have an understanding and sympathy for those who did fight. It is not soldiers or their Generals and Admirals that start or cause wars … that would be politicians and other leaders of nations. Remembrance Day is to remember the sacrifices of those who fought, and I like to think that we live in a far better world because of what our fathers and grandfathers did.

My dad fought in the Second World War. He was a tank gunner who “joined up” in 1939 at the age of 18 My dad wasn’t killed (or I would not be writing this) but he represents a generation whose lives were changed by war.

Only those who have done it can know what it is like to go into battle … can you imagine what it might be like to know you could be killed at any moment? My dad was in a tin can called a Sherman tank which was severely limited in the armor it carried … and a direct hit, even on its best armor could kill everyone inside with the shock. When they faced the German Panzers they were out matched in size, armor, range and gun size … imagine a middleweight wrestler taking on a Sumo wrestler!

He was trained for desert warfare, saw action in the Middle East and hot countries like Italy yet he was also sent to the jungles of Burma (today known as Myanmar) and my dad had opinions on that move! My dad didn’t give a lot of details about the war … he liked to tell the stories of when he and his buddies got into trouble, which apparently was not rare and resulted in a demotion or two! The following however is an indication of a part of my dad’s war, an excerpt I found about the history of the 7th Queen’s Own Hussars (the tank regiment my dad served in).

In 1942, the Regiment was sent to Burma where it covered the long retreat to India. Fierce fighting along the jungle tracks took a terrible toll, but the Regiment never failed to do all that was asked of it. and fought tooth and nail to save the Army. General Alexander said of the 7th Hussars – “Without them we should never have got the Army out of Burma ; no praise can be too high for them”.

My dad and I are not the only members of family with a military connection. My Uncle Davy was a boy sailor on the HMS Exeter in the Second World War. The Exeter was sunk in the Java Sea in 1942, and he was captured by Japanese forces and held as a prisoner until the war ended in 1945. We have all seen the movies about conditions in those camps and the stories I was told of his captivity were horrific … can you imagine the affect on that 17 year old boy?

My dad was young when he died, just 56 years old and my Uncle Davy was only 47 years old when he passed away. I can’t say they died young because of their war experiences but I can say their lives were changed by those experiences, and it would surprise me if their life expectancy were not affected. They both missed the formative years of their early careers, and certainly my dad did not get the chance to pursue the career he wanted. They both lost friends during the war, and the psychological scars that brought, and they both saw the absolute terror of battle … which has to change a person. Uncle Davy suffered terribly in that camp and spent many months recovering in an Australian hospital after the war, again I found a description of conditions at the camp he was held in Macassar. He was never the same.

These are the reasons why I buy poppies and remember the soldiers, sailors and airmen together with their families who have all sacrificed … and they should never be forgotten.